Talk:Trail of Tears
Contents of the story, to be worked into an article eventually and should be removed from this page once that takes place. "In the 1830's the Cherokees of Georgia were a properous and peaceful people. They had adopted the white man's ways and were proud of the fact that they were considered a civilized tribes. Many Cherokees owned fine farms. Some had large plantations and even owned slaves. Their almost legendary leader, Sequoia, had given them an alphabet long ago. Now they had books printed in their own language and even a Cherokee newspaper. They had established their own government, guided by a written constitution which was based on the White Man's laws. Then one day a Cherokee lad playing in a Georgia creek found a glittering yellow pebble in the sand of the stream. He took it to his mother. Indians knew that the White Man valued such yellow pebbles highly. When the Indian woman rode into a nearby for supplies she swapped the pebble for groceries. Word soon spread that gold had been found on Cherokee land! The gold rush was on. Bands of greedy men swarmed down on Cherokee territory like vultures. Prospectors dug for gold everywhere without permission. Fences and borders meant nothing. The gold rush would peter out soon, but envious eyes had seen the rich Cherokee farms, the fertile rolling lands that were worth far more than gold. Soon speculators were plotting ways to take the land away from the Indians. Laws were passed giving local governments the power to control and take over Cherokee territory, even though, by treaty, the Cherokees were an independent nation. Other tribes might have gone on the warpath but Cherokee farmers had faith in the protection of the White Man's laws. They fought the case right up to Supreme Court and won! But the Federal government refused to enforce the court's decision. The Cherokees were bluntly told to leave Georgia and migrate to a specially-designated Indian territory, west of the Mississippi. Though some leaders of the tribe were ready to fight, others advised against resistance. The White Man was too powerful. There would be bloodshed unless the Cherokees moved voluntarily. So the great migration began. Cherokee farmers left their land. Men, women and children began one of the most heartbreaking journeys in history. Hunger, disease and suffering marked their trek. Perhaps some of the younger hot-heads would have turned back to fight and die, but Federal soldiers lined the roads with guns at ready. There was no turning back. The Cherokees plodded westward leavingi a pitiful trail of graves behind them. On the far side of the Mississippi the remnants of the Cherokees settled on the new raw land alotted to them by the Federal government. But their hearts could never forget the rich lands they had left behind or the terrible trail they had traveled. But the White Man had outwitted himself. Many years later oil was discovered in the new land owned by the Cherokees. This time the Indians profited by the wealth of the black gold that lay in great pools far beneath the surface of their farms. The tribe became wealthy. Today Cherokees are among the richest people in that part of the west. But in CHerokee homes children sit silently as the old men recount the saddest of Indian legends, the terrible tale of 'The Trail of Tears.'"